Extractive Metallurgy of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum Group Metals PDF
Preview Extractive Metallurgy of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum Group Metals
Extractive Metallurgy of Nickel, Cobalt and Platinum-Group Metals Frank K. Crundwell CM Solutions (Pty) Ltd Michael S. Moats University of Utah Venkoba Ramachandran Consultant Timothy G. Robinson Freeport McMoRan Mining Company William G. Davenport University of Arizona AMSTERDAMlBOSTONlHEIDELBERGlLONDON NEWYORKlOXFORDlPARISlSANDIEGO SANFRANCISCOlSINGAPORElSYDNEYlTOKYO Elsevier TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,OxfordOX51GB,UK Radarweg29,POBox211,1000AEAmsterdam,TheNetherlands Copyright(cid:1)2011ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystemortransmitted inanyformorbyanymeanselectronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingor otherwisewithoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher PermissionsmaybesoughtdirectlyfromElsevier’sScience&TechnologyRights DepartmentinOxford,UK:phone(+44)(0)1865843830;fax(+44)(0)1865853333; email:permissions@elsevier.com.Alternativelyyoucansubmityourrequestonlineby visitingtheElsevierwebsiteathttp://elsevier.com/locate/permissions,andselecting ObtainingpermissiontouseElseviermaterial Notice Noresponsibilityisassumedbythepublisherforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersons orpropertyasamatterofproductsliability,negligenceorotherwise,orfromany useoroperationofanymethods,products,instructionsorideascontainedinthe materialherein BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress ISBN:978-0-08-096809-4 For information on all Elsevier publications visitourwebsiteatwww.elsevierdirect.com PrintedandboundinGreatBritain 1112131410987654321 Preface This book describes extraction of nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals. The starting point is ore-in-place and the finishing point is high-purity metals and chemicals. We have combined the description of these metals in one book because they very often occur together, are extracted together and have similar properties. Theobjectivesofthe book are to: (a) describe howthesemetalsoccur and are extracted; (b) explainwhy theseextraction processes have been chosen; (c) indicatehowtheprocessescanbeoperatedmostefficiently,withminimal impact on the environment;and, (d) suggestfuture improvements. Muchoftheinformationinthebookwasobtainedbyvisitingmanyofthe world’snickel-,cobalt-andplatinum-groupmetalextractionplants.Wethank our hosts profusely for so graciously and expertly guiding us around their facilities. Our book could not have been written without enormous help from our colleagues. Wethankthem all mostdeeply. Theplatinumindustry istraditionallysecretiveabout publishingdetails of the refining processes. Both Impala Platinum and Lonmin Platinum openly shared information, and for that we are grateful. Paul Lessing, in particular, provided freely and openly of his knowledge and deep experience in the platinum refiningindustry. (cid:1) We have used SI-based units throughout. However, we use C for temperature, bar for pressure, and g/L for concentration because they are so common. The unit for gas volume is Nm3, defined as 1m3 of gas at a temperature of 273K and a pressure of 1atmosphere (1.01325bar). Lastly, unlessotherwisestated,dollaralwaysmeansUSdollar,and%alwaysmeans% by mass. Two abbreviations are used throughout the book: PGM and PGE for platinum-group metals andplatinum-group elements,respectively. MargaretDavenportandKathy Soleread everywordofourmanuscriptat different stages and made many useful suggestions. We thank them for their devotiontotheclarityofthisbook.WealsothankAyeshaOsman,Nicholasdu Preez, Justin Lloyd, Trevor Chagonda and Nardo Mennen for assisting with ix x Preface proof-readinganddrawingdiagrams.WethankEmilieAllemandwhosokindly helpedWD while hewas writing at the University of Cambridge. Frank K. Crundwell Johannesburg, South Africa Michael S. Moats Salt Lake City, Utah Venkoba Ramachandran Phoenix, Arizona Tim G. Robinson Phoenix, Arizona William G. Davenport Tucson, Arizona Acknowledgments Thefollowingpeoplehostedusonsitevisits,repliedtorequestsforinformation and read parts of the manuscript. We are grateful to them for giving freely of their knowledge to enhance our understanding of the world of extractive metallurgy. Name Company PaulLessing ImpalaPlatinum,SouthAfrica IanBratt ImpalaPlatinum,SouthAfrica RicardoDiedericks LonminPlatinum,SouthAfrica MichaelTurner-Jones LonminPlatinum,SouthAfrica AlanKeeley LonminPlatinum,SouthAfrica JacquesEksteen LonminPlatinum,SouthAfrica NicoSteenekamp LonminPlatinum,SouthAfrica LesBryson AngloFerrous,Brazil MarkGilmore AngloAmericanPlatinum,SouthAfrica KathySole AngloAmericanResearch,SouthAfrica MauriceSolar Hatch,Canada OleMortenDotterud XstrataNikkelverk,Norway DavidWhite Consultant MikeCollins SherrittInternational,Canada DavidMuir CSIRO,Australia RobbieMacDonald CSIRO,Australia IndjeMihaylov Vale,Canada JimFinch McGillUniversity TakashiNakamura TohokuUniversity,Japan MarindaJacobs AngloAmericanPlatinum,SouthAfrica RodneyJones Mintek,SouthAfrica JayRobie PhoenixAutocores,U.S.A. JoeWesterhausen Multimetco,U.S.A. RobertJacobsen SabinMetal,U.S.A. JimHicks SabinWest,U.S.A. DanTurk StillwaterMining,U.S.A. FionaButtrey Vale,Wales HiraSingh ChambishiMetals,Zambia IanSkepper BHPBilliton,Australia ChristopheZyde Umicore,Belgium ChristianHageluken Umicore,Germany TonyStorey Vale,Canada (Continued) xi xii Acknowledgments Name Company BryanSalt Xstrata,Canada PierreLouis PELConsult,DemocraticRepublicofCongo LeneHansen HaldorTopsoe,Denmark ErnieMast Falcondo,DominicanRepublic RichardLea Vale,England PaiviSuikkanen Boliden,Finland EsaLindell NorilskNickel,Finland JukikaRimmisto NorilskNickel,Finland SinichiHeguri SumitomoNickel,Japan Jean-CharlesDidier SocieteLeNickel,NewCaledonia ChrisRule AngloAmericanPlatinum,SouthAfrica DavidJollie JohnsonMatthey,England MartinWells CSIRO,Australia MartynFox ImpalaPlatinum,SouthAfrica DebbieErasmus AngloAmericanPlatinum Chapter 1 Overview Our world is becoming increasingly dependent on nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals. Ever since Harry Brearley discovered that alloying steel with nickel and chromium produced stainless steel, the demand for nickel has outpaced the global rate of economic growth. Cobalt is a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries, a field that has grown rapidly as a result of mobile phones and other consumer electronic goods, and is bound to grow more with the increased use of electric vehicles. The catalytic properties of the platinum-group elements ensure that the demand for these metals will continue as the demand for automobiles and vehicles grows. Nickel is mostly used in alloys, for example, in stainless steels, aero- space alloys and specialty steels. Cobalt is also used in specialty alloys, but its largest application is currently in battery chemicals. Platinum-group metals (Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir and Os) are mostly used as catalysts that mini- mize emissions from cars and trucks. All of these metals also have many other uses. Primary production of nickel, cobalt and platinum-group metals in the worldin2009isshowninTable1.1.Thecombinedeconomicvalueofmining and refining these metals isabout US$ 50billionper annum. Thepurposeofthisbookistodescribehowthesemetalsareproducedfrom the ores thatare mined. Inthenextfoursections,themostimportantprocessesfortheproductionof nickel,cobaltandplatinum-groupmetalsandtheirrecyclingarepresented.An outline ofthe structure ofthisbook isthen given. 1.1. EXTRACTION OF NICKEL AND COBALT Nickelisminedfromtwotypesofores:lateritesandsulfides.Althoughabout 70%oftheorereservesarefoundinlateriteores,onlyabout40%ofthenickel productionisfromlaterites.AsshowninFigure1.1,lateritesaremostlyusedto produce ferronickel,which isused directly insteelmaking.Some laterite ores areusedtomakemelting-gradenickelandnickelmatte.Sulphidesarerefined to produce high-gradenickel. ExtractiveMetallurgyofNickel,CobaltandPlatinum-GroupMetals.DOI:10.1016/B978-0-08-096809-4.10001-2 Copyright(cid:1)2011ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved. 1 2 ExtractiveMetallurgyofNickel,CobaltandPlatinum-GroupMetals TABLE1.1 WorldwidePrimaryProductionandValueofNickel,Cobaltand Platinum-GroupMetalsin2009 Commodity Production,tonnes/year Value,million$ Nickel,includingnickelinferronickel 1500000 30000 Cobalt 60000 3000 Platinum-groupmetals 450 15000 Nickel Ores 70% of resources 30% of resources 40% of production 60% of production Laterite Ores Sulfide Ores Saprolite Limonite and Smectite low-Fe laterite high-Fe laterite ~15% Fe ~35% Fe garnierite, talc, goethite,iron oxides, pentlandite sepiolite nontronite clays drying, high temperature concentrating, calcination, acid leaching, smelting, smelting refining refining Ferronickel Nickel Nickel FIGURE1.1 The extraction of nickel and ferronickel from laterite and suphide ores. Laterite oresoccurassaprolite,smectiteandlimonitelayers.Becauseoftheirdifferentcompositionsand mineralogy,theyrequiredifferentmethodsofextraction.Saprolite,whichhasarelativelylowiron content,issmelted.Limoniteandsmectiteores,whichhaveahighironcontent,areleachedand refined.Themineralsthatrepresenteachtypeoforearealsoshown. Chapter | 1 Overview 3 FIGURE 1.2 Hill-top laterite mine in New Caledonia. The overburden has been removed to expose the saprolite ore, which is mined as shown, upgraded and smelted to ferronickel. The ore delivered to the process plant typically contains about 2% Ni. Photograph courtesy W.G.Davenport. 1.1.1. Extraction of Nickel and Cobalt from Laterite Ores Lateritesarefoundmostlyintropicalregionsandareminedfortheirnickeland cobalt in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Cuba. Sulphides are found mostly in Canada and northern Siberia. Both laterite and sulphide ores areminedfornickelandcobaltwhentheconcentrationsexceedabout1.3%Ni and 0.1% Co. Lateritesoccurnearthesurface,andasshowninFigure1.2,theyaremined by surface-mining methods. Lateritesarecomplexoresformedbytheweatheringofoceanfloorthathas been pushed up by tectonic forces. This weathering, which has occurred over millionsofyears,hasresultedinaprofileofdifferentmineralsfromthesurface tothebedrock.Threenickel-bearinglayersarecommonlyidentifiedwithinthis profile1: 1.Theclassificationofthelateritesisoftenunclearandinconsistent.Limoniteisamineralogical term,andsaproliteisatextualrockterm.Manyoftheoresencounteredinextractivemetallurgyare referredtobyhost,suchassulfideoroxide.However,thevariablenatureoflateritesmakesthis difficult. 4 ExtractiveMetallurgyofNickel,CobaltandPlatinum-GroupMetals (a) limonite,which occursnear the surface; (b) smectitelayer, which alsooccursnear the surface;and, (c) saprolite layer, which occurs below the limoniteand smectitelayers. Theremaybeseveralotheridentifiablelayers,suchasferricreteandamottled zone, inthe lateriteprofile.These layers are showninFigure1.3. The limonite layer consists of a mixture of minerals that have a high iron and low MgO content. One group of minerals is limonite or hydrated iron oxides, FeO(OH)$nH O. Nickel substitutes for iron in these minerals 2 (Carvalho-e-Silvaetal.,2003).Thegenericformulaofgoethite,(Fe,Ni)OOH, isused torepresentlimoniteores inchemical reactions. Alayerofsmectiteclay,suchasnontronite,isfoundinsomedeposits,for example, at Murrin-Murrin inWestern Australia. Thesaprolitelayerisbelowthelimonitelayer.Thesaproliteoreshavealow iron and a high MgO content. Because it is further from the surface, it is less FIGURE 1.3 Laterite profiles from different climatic zones and maturity of weathering (Harris & Magee, 2003, Freyssinet 2005). Each layer is 2–5 m thick. Rain and vegetative acids have leached MgO and SiO from the original igneous peridotite rock – enriching the 2 leached layers in iron, nickel and cobalt. Dissolved nickel has also percolated down into the saprolitelayer,whereitismost concentrated.The naturalleachingprocessismost advanced at the top and least at the bottom (million and 10 million years). The unleached peridotite rock is ocean floor that has been pushed above sea level by tectonic forces. Most of New Caledonia(forexample)ismadeupofperidotiteoceanfloorrock–whichexplainswhythis region is such an important source of nickel. Diagram after Harris and Magee (2003), courtesy of CM Solutions (Pty) Ltd.
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